Stephan Bodzin vs. Marc Romboy – Luna

In the middle of the minimal era (2005-2006) there were a series of releases from systematic where epic electro tinged yet melancholic melodies were the order of the day. The releases were a result of the fruitful union of label boss Marc Romboy and the Moog master Stephan Bodzin.

Five years later some of the tracks have been collected and organized into an album with a remix package showing the incredible width of Romboys connections and musical interests (in a house/techno context that is).

The first disc contains what you’d expect to find if you followed the original releases, with Atlas, Ferdinand and Hydra being the personal favorites. The only thing that strikes me as an odd choice is the exclusion of the original mix of Callisto, a beautiful track here reduced to a synth only, beatless version. It still packs that moody yet uplifting punch though, and it does serve well as a break from the kick drums. Overall the first disc is a nice package, especially if you’ve missed the original releases.

Now the second disc is another beast entirely. It’s basically the original tracks remixed into more floorfriendly contemporary tracks. The first thing that struck me when looking through the tracklist was the enormous width of the producers. It starts off on a more experimental note with an incredibly deep and mellow remix by Moritz von Oswald. Moritz is as good as ever and the track grows on you. Robag Wrhume turns the minimalist madness of the alchemist into a 4 to the floor affair with a dark groove while Joris Voorn takes Callisto and turns it into one of his trademark big room Tech-House tracks. Its not by far the most interesting of the tracks on this disc but its without a doubt going to see its fair share of play.

Martin Buttrich surprises a bit and turns in a quite deep remix, there’s not that much of the tribal shuffle you might suspect since his latest releases and the track is the better of because of it.

The Atlas remix from peerless deephouse joc and 8bit/katchuli labelboss Gorge is one of the winners in my book. A laidback track with enough of the original track to honor it but brought into a proper, classy deephouse groove with a wellplaced saxsample to complete it.

The tribal/techhouse jocks are probably going to go for the remix by Timo Maas and Santos under their alias Mutant Clan. Impeccable production and tribal propulsion without mercy back the menacing moogsynth from Luna.

Stimming is on point as always and the psychedelic mess of a track somehow comes together in a coherent fashion and there’s a nice groove underpinning it all. The only complaint being that you’ve heard the same tricks so many times from him (wet claps anyone?). Still it’s a very solid track and far from boring.

Huntemann is as menacing as always, heavy kick, incredibly slick drum programing and cosmic swirling synths lead up to the inevitable trademark electrobassline he does so well. Huntemann is probably the one producer closest to the sound aesthetics of the original track. Not suprising considering the Rekorder project and all other collabs with Bodzin.

Pan-Pot delivers exactly what youd expect aswell, a thight heavy rolling minimal monster. It’s dark, heavy and using the original synth line from phobos to create a massive break to great effect.

Luna is treated to a royal makeover by Oxia and Nicolas Masseyeff. It’s dark, brooding, shuffling and groovy and I’m certain that It will completely destroy the right floor if dropped in a proper fashion at the right moment.

Malmö based Minilogue takes Telesto, an already good track and turns it into a slowly enveloping piece of infinite beauty. Ok, not infinite, the track is 26.21 min but it sure feels like infinity when listening to it and not in a bad way. If Nirvana (not the band, the state of mind) had a soundtrack this would be it. So deep and richly layered it’s ridiculous.

The last track of the disc is Gaisers remix of Triton. Gaiser seems like the only artis who’s able to keep the Minus sound interesting and that’s no small feat considering who overexposed Minus got. The triton remix will most likely be invaluable to dj’s still clinging to that soundsignature.

All in all a very good offering from Systematic and a welcome trip down memory lane wrapped up with some fresh tracks from some of the scenes most talented producers. The only other place I can think of where you could find this much variety is on the cocoon compilations.